The Fate That Binds Us
by QueenIsabellaofCleves
Summary: [Prequel to Edward's Queen] He was the son of a king. She was the daughter of an heiress. He was promised to the French. She was promised to the Emperor. What would bring these two very different worlds together?
1. Chapter 1

**October 12th, 1537**

_Hampton Court Palace, England_

* * *

It had happened! Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour had given birth to a healthy baby boy. The labor had been long and hard, but after two long days, a Prince of Wales had been given to England. Henry chuckled as he held the boy, red gold hair thinly covered his head.

"My dear Jane, my one true wife." He murmured in his exhausted wife's ear.

She smiled, although her eyes remained closed. "There shall be more, Your Majesty."

"Of course there shall be, however, we must think of a name for our Prince of Wales. Perhaps Henry?" He kissed the little infant.

Jane yawned. "I much like the name Edward, Your Majesty."

Henry smiled. "Then Edward it shall be. I take my leave of you, so that you may rest, my love."

Henry exited his wife's chambers with a large grin on his face. His closest friend, Charles Brandon had been waiting outside.

"Your Majesty, it must be true." His friend gave him a bow.

Henry could barely contain himself. "Ah, yes! A healthy boy and many more to come."

Henry limped to his Privy chamber where Cranmer and Cromwell were awaiting the news.

"You appear to be in quite high spirits, Your Majesty." Cromwell observed.

"I have all right to be, Cromwell. Queen Jane hath provided me with a true son and heir, Prince Edward."

* * *

**July 10th, 1537**

_Guelders, Germany_

* * *

Sophia was prepared. Her ladies plaited her hair and dressed her an hour ago, she was waiting to be summoned by her father. She was going to marry William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, mainly to prevent her lands from being absorbed by the Holy Roman Empire. Her father, Duke Charles, was an elderly man, not expected to live too many years longer. She loved her father dearly, but the thought of her own reign was tantalizing. She had an idea to reform the tax system and she wanted to enter into negotiations with the more powerful nations and expand Guelders' influence. She had come a long way from the days she wanted to marry the Holy Roman Emperor because it sounded nice. She had thrown all of her dedication into her marriage to William, including befriending his sisters Anna and Amalia. Anna was her favorite by far, although she seemed a bit naïve. Anna was also the prettier sister and Sophia wished she had a brother for Anna to marry so they could be sisters twice over. However, she was secretly grateful for her parents' failure to produce more children, with a brother Sophia would never be Duchess in her own right.

A soft knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "You may enter."

Her father's page bowed lowly to her. "His Grace, your father, has summoned you to the chapel."

Sophia rose, delighted to be relieved of her waiting. She gave the page a coin and nodded to her two favorite ladies, Sarah and Maria to carry her train. The page led them to the chapel and tension descended over the group. She wondered if William would remain polite after their marriage or if it had been a show to retain Guelders as he had a distant claim to the Duchy. Once they reached the chapel, Sophia felt herself shaking. She walked slowly, knowing that once she married him, she would have to serve him. She prayed he would allow her to govern Guelders on her own. He smiled at her, but she did not return it, suddenly distrustful of his intentions for marrying her. Instead, he took a deep breath as she turned over her entire life to her new husband.

**April 16th, 1538**

_Cleves, Germany_

* * *

A loud wail filled the room as Sophia gave her last push, her first child had entered the world. Her three favorite ladies, Sarah, Maria, and Ethel had attended her during the birth. Sarah swaddled the wailing infant and Sophia waited patiently. She wanted to know if she had given birth to a son or a daughter.

Sarah brought her the crying child and smiled. "A daughter, Your Grace."

Sophia nodded. "I will name her Isabella because that is the Spanish way. She will marry the Holy Roman Emperor's son, Philip. This girl will be a queen."

She looked down at her daughter and smiled, fine red hair covered her head. Sophia was grateful she hadn't inherited her father's dark looks.

"Maria, please bring my husband to me." Sophia ordered.

Maria nodded and disappeared, leaving Sophia with Sarah and Ethel. Ethel was Sarah's mother and Sophia's wet nurse, so Sophia trusted her more than any other woman in her retinue. Sarah on the other hand, had been Sophia's whipping girl so she tried to be on her best behavior to spare Sarah the lash. The question of Sarah's marriage was first in Sophia's mind, and she had a particular man in mind.

"Sarah, I would like-"

Sophia was cut off by her husband entering the room. He approached slowly. "Isabella you say?"

Sophia nodded. "Yes, husband "

He frowned. "I had been thinking maybe Maria or Anna. Perhaps even Sybille, Isabella is...odd."

Sophia rocked her daughter a bit. "The next shall be Anna. She will be Isabella, that is what they will call her in Spain."

"A Spanish marriage? That will put her in the hands of the Hapsburgs." William sighed.

Sophia flicked her hand to dismiss her ladies before replying. "My father has a debt to pay. He promised my first daughter to the Emperor's eldest son, so she will be queen of Spain and the Holy Roman Empress. So I chose Isabella, Spanish for Elisabeth."

William nodded. "Of course, your father's debt must be paid. We must have a son so that we retain Guelders."

Sophia chuckled. "Of course we shall have a son. Many sons and daughters."

William timidly took Isabella into his arms. Sophia watched as he kissed their daughter's forehead. She smiled, knowing he could have raged against her for not giving him a son.

"Would you send for Anna?" Sophia inquired.

William nodded. "I assume you would want her for the godmother?"

Sophia laughed. "Of course! Anna and the Empress, her future mother-in-law."

William winced at the mention of the Empress. "What about the king of England?"

Sophia giggled. "He would try to take her for a wife, but of course. If he will accept, that is."

William kissed her cheek tenderly. "Anna will be present shortly."

Sophia nodded as she watched him leave. She was beginning to love William, especially after she had explained what she wanted to do about the depleted treasury in Guelders. He backed her ideals completely and she was eager to put them in place. She looked back down at her tiny daughter and sighed as she realized that she would not be able to give her daughter the same joy of governing in her own right. Sophia needed to have a son to keep the Empire away from her lands.

Maria opened the door. "Your Grace, the Lady Anna."

Anna curtsied before she approached her bedside. "This is my little niece?"

Sophia smiled proudly. "The future Holy Roman Empress, my little Isabella."

Anna took the babe in her arms. "I hope that one day I will be able to have a babe of my own."

Sophia laughed. "You will, Anna. I have been telling your brother to find you a suitable husband for ages!"

"You seem to be the only one to do so. My mother-" Sophia cut her off.

"I know you and your mother are close, but you cannot allow her to rule your life. You will die an old spinster if you allow her to sway you so easily."

Anna appeared a bit bewildered by her adamant statement. "Your Grac- Sophia I will be married when the time is right."

Sophia took Isabella back into her arms. "You are right. You'll make any man a good match, even the fickle king of England."


	2. Chapter 2

**October 17th, 1539**

_Richmond Palace_

* * *

Henry limply sifted through the details of the marriage treaty Cromwell had negotiated. He was going to marry a sister of the Duke of Cleves, hopefully Anne, who appeared to be the more attractive of the two. Cromwell had also tried to secure a betrothal of the Duke's eldest daughter to Prince Edward. Alas, the girl was already promised to someone else-the Prince of Asturias. Not that it mattered much to Henry, he could betroth his son to any princess in Europe and break the betrothal just as quickly. Currently he was betrothed to the younger daughter, Amalia. Henry was reluctant to marry Anne of Cleves, but Cromwell was correct when he pointed out that England had no friends on the continent at the moment. Anne was said to be sweet and docile which was perfect for Henry. After the disaster of Anne Boleyn, Henry was done with women who thought they were more intelligent than he. He simply wanted a Duke of York to join the nursery with his two year old son.

"Your Majesty, your Queen Anne will arrive in December. Hopefully she will not be delayed and we will have a strong Duke of York by the close of next year." Cromwell brought Henry from his thoughts.

Henry nodded. "Of course. Do you honestly believe it was a good idea to betroth Edward to the younger daughter? "

Cromwell nodded. "They say that the Lady Isabella is very delicate. She'll most likely die in childbed with a weak child and Amalia will succeed. If Amalia doesn't succeed Edward will avoid war with the Empire. Either way, England will gain something."

Henry was taken aback. "You believe they'll go to war over that insignificant piece of land?"

"Of course. The Empire is constantly amending its treaties so that they can absorb it." Cromwell passed him a piece of parchment.

It was the final piece of his treaty with Cleves. It was the dowry agreement which was to be paid in full once she arrived. He signed it and watched Cromwell disappear from the room. He was curious. What was this Anne like?

* * *

**October 19th, 1539**

_Berg, Germany_

* * *

Sophia tucked her younger daughter Amalia into the crib with Isabella, who was ducking her thumb while she slept. It was a peaceful sight, as Sophia reached down to tuck a piece of red hair behind Isabella's ear. Amalia's head was covered in dark brown hair like her father and she also seemed like the stronger daughter. As apart of a double alliance with England, Amalia was betrothed to the Prince of Wales, but the treaty with the Empire stated that her daughter be betrothed to Archduke John of Austria, the second oldest son of the Emperor. Yet her marriage treaty stated that the second child of their marriage would inherit the United Duchies, not Guelders. Sophia had been praying often, especially after Empress Isabella died in childbed. Sophia had immediately found the treaty her father had signed, the one that gave Emperor Charles the right to break her marriage apart at will. She had fallen in love with her husband and children, Charles couldn't take that away from her.

A knock at the door made her jump and she hid the parchment behind a book as Maria shuffled to the door. With a bitterness, Maria reminded Sophia of Sarah every day. Sarah had died after giving birth to a daughter destined to be a whipping girl, then a maid of honor. Sophia smiled when she realized it was Anna at the door.

Sophia went to embrace her. "Your Majesty, the Queen of England."

Anna pushed her away. "I do not want to marry him. After the things you told me about his wives, Sophia how could you allow my brother to do this?"

Sophia sighed with guilt. "I tried to stop him, but the alliance is mutually beneficial. He may not be the best husband but your brother needs him. If you give him a son he cannot discard you and he cannot kill you, I'll go to war with him if he does."

Anna was close to tears. "Sophia, what if he does not like me?"

Sophia hugged her again. "The worst that could happen is that he sends you home. Until you marry him, however, I am going to prepare you for your role as Queen with the help of the English ambassador."

Anna wrinkled her nose. "So you are going to willingly send me into despair and unhappiness?"

Sophia shook her head. "He was very devoted to his wives until they failed to give him a son from what it seems. The last wife gave him a son and he grieved bitterly from what his minister tells me. All you must do is give him a second son."

Anna glared at Sophia, a funny expression on her face as she never really got angry. "And if I cannot?"

Sophia smirked. "Prepare to be locked away for the rest of your days!"

"Sophia! This is serious." Anna flopped into a chair.

Sophia chuckled. "Anna you are pretty, gentle, and you learn very quickly. What more could he ask for?"

Anna stared into the fire sullenly. Sophia knew she would mope about unless she was given something to distract herself.

"Anna, would you like to learn some Latin?" Sophia went to a shelf and pulled out one of her old translation books.

Anna got up curiously and Sophia handed her the book. "Sophia, you know what my mother will say."

Sophia ignored the comment. "I heard that King Henry likes his wives to be very cultured. So here's a book in French too. I asked the ambassador to come with some of the king's favorite music tomorrow."

Anna shook her head. "My mother always told me that that clever women were immoral."

Sophia sighed in exasperation. "If you want to have a happy marriage, do as I ask. If you want to continue to be sheltered by your mother and be locked away by your husband then be my guest."

Anna was visibly shaking. "I guess I'd better start learning these translations."

Sophia smiled. "Very good, sister. I've also arranged for you to be fitted for new dresses."

"New dresses? I fit my-"

Sophia raised a hand. "They will be from France. You must begin to dress in the English fashion."

Anna was beginning to look overwhelmed with the changes Sophia was imposing. Sophia just wanted the best for Anna and she needed to give her a fighting chance for King Henry' s affections. Sophia was even considering traveling to England with her but William was reluctant, knowing it would mean that they could not try for another child so that Sophia could travel safely. Sophia was only 20, she could wait a short time before trying for another child. However, Sophia ' main focus was preparing Anna to become a queen of a foreign land. Anna excused herself from Sophia, arms filled with books of all the things Duchess Maria had hidden from her daughters. Before she could close the door behind her, one of her father's pages bowed before her.

"Your Grace," He bowed.

Normally they only referred to her as Lady Sophia, and she eyed the page curiously. "Speak."

"I regret to inform you of this, but your father passed away in April of last year."


	3. Chapter 3

**January 1st, 1540**

_Rochester, England_

* * *

Sophia wrapped herself in her cloak as she and Anne watched the bull baiting in the court yard. Educating Anne had went better than expected and her sister-in-law was already showing the signs of being sophisticated, which Sophia was confident King Henry would appreciate. Normally, Anne would have come to England alone, but she cried, something Sophia hated, until Sophia agreed to accompany her to England. With Amalia betrothed to the Prince of Wales, she simply cited diplomatic reasons as her excuse, but she had a problem. She knew she was with child again, so she didn't want to risk traveling back to Germany and possibly losing a son and heir. This meant that Sophia would be forced to ask the King of England for lodgings until she gave birth to her child.

Sophia was interrupted from her musings when a cloaked man arrived with a gift. Knowing Anne was shy, Sophia gave an assuring smile to her sister before turned to the man, leaving Anne near the window.

The man bowed. "I present a gift for the new queen."

Sophia nodded. "We accept your gift, sir"

Without warning, the man lunged forward, pulling Sophia into a passionate kiss. She could hear Anne gasp in shock, and Sophia pushed the man away, cursing in German. The man glared at her, quite put off by her reaction.

"Madam, I would have you know that you speak to your future husband." He muttered.

Sophia nodded sweetly. "Ah, yes. It is too bad that I am already married."

He removed the cloak, revealing himself as King Henry. "Already married? You are not the Lady Anne?"

Anne finally regained her composure. "I am, Your Majesty."

Sophia nodded. "I would assume the hair confused, Your Majesty."

Henry turned to observe Sophia again. "You could not be the Duchess of Guelders."

"Yet, here I am."

Henry remained silent before his eyes rested on Anne and he smiled widely. "My Lady,"

Anne nodded sweetly. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty."

Henry remained a moment more. "I see that we will have a fruitful marriage, my dear Anne."

He proceeded to leave the room and Sophia appeared bemused. "Well that did not go as he planned it, now did it?"

Anne giggled. "I do not believe it did."

* * *

**August 13th, 1545**

_Bletchingly Palace_

* * *

It had been four years since the annulment, four years since Sophia had died, and Anne still felt the pain of it all. Her marriage to Henry had began well, and they had a son, William, by September of 1540. He had been a sweet child and both Anne and Henry doted on him when he had been born, but he had been small and sickly. Still, he was created the Duke of York at the age of six months and Henry loved him just a fiercely as he loved Prince Edward. Sadly, by April of 1540, William had died of a fever and her husband began to turn away from her more and more. Then, near the end of May she received the most heartbreaking letter she had ever gotten from her brother, Sophia had died after a fall from her horse. What made matters worse is that she had been pregnant and the _post mortum _revealed that the child had been their long awaited son. He also implored her to raise his four daughters: Isabella, Amalia, and the twins Sophia and Anna in her household. That same day, Henry arrived to demand an annulment from so that he could marry the young and vital Catherine Howard. She agreed, simply to avoid Catherine of Aragon's fate and was given the title _Kings Beloved Sister_ and a generous settlement. She also agreed to raise Sophia's daughters to feel closer to her sister and to fill the void William had left. Henry had done her the favor of appointing Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Cromwell, as the governess for the girls and several tutors for the girls. They were to receive an education equal to that of the prince and Lady Elizabeth, who often visited her home.

"Lady aunt, I finished my stitches!" Isabella's young voice broke her thoughts.

The small girl with red hair handed her stitches to Anne to be inspected. "Very good, Isabella. Much better than yesterday, I am sure Lady Cromwell is pleased."

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, she is. She tells me that I am better than her daughters were at my age."

Anne smiled. "I am sure you are. You are seven years old and already stitching better than many adult women do, my sweet."

Isabella gave a grin, three of her teeth missing on the sides. "Thank you."

"What of your French, Isabella? I hear you are not paying attention to your tutor." Anne found it hard to be stern with any of her nieces, they each held a bit of Sophia in them.

Isabella looked ashamed and lowered her head. "Je ai essayé de faire attention , mais il fait l'apprentissage de la langue douloureusement ennuyeux. Il est si difficile de faire attention à elle . Je préfère de beaucoup mes leçons de latin et espagnol à la leçon de français . Je me excuse , ma dame ." _[I have been trying to pay attention but he makes learning the language painfully boring. It is so hard to pay attention to it. I much prefer my Latin and Spanish lessons to the French lesson. I apologize, my lady_.]

Anne nodded. "You are speaking better, I see. Where is Amalia?"

"Amalia is still doing her stitches with Lady Cromwell." Isabella replied.

Anne nodded. "And in French?"

Isabella furrowed her brow. "What is that you ask?"

"Say the answer again in French."

Isabella closed her eyes for a moment before responding. "Amalia est encore en train de faire ses points avec Madame Cromwell."

"What about Spanish?"

Isabella sighed. "Amalia sigue haciendo sus puntadas con Dama Cromwell."

"And the Latin?"

"Est tamen ea facere cum domina Amalia suturis Cromwell."

"Greek?"

"Amalía exakoloutheí na kánei rámmata ti̱s me ti̱n Lady Cromwell."

"Last, but not least, the German."

German was special to Anne because she had taught the girls that language herself, although Isabella had come to her as a three year old, already speaking short sentences.

"Amalia ist immer noch dabei ihre Stiche mit Lady Cromwell."

Anne nodded. "You must make sure you master all of your studies. I hear you are doing well, but you cannot be lazy, my sweet."

Isabella frowned. "Am I going to have to say everything in all five languages?"

Anne saw an opportunity to motive her young niece to study. "Perhaps, if you fail to pay attention to your tutors."

"I will study very hard then!" Isabella promptly ran off to her rooms, leaving Anne alone.

Anne marveled at how much the girl had grown since she had arrived in England four years ago. She knew that if Sophia could see her girls she would be so proud of them, they would have married well when the time would have came if she had lived. Isabella would have been the Holy Roman Empress, Amalia would have been Queen of England and Sophia had wanted to make Sophia the younger Duchess of Bavaria, and Anna would have perhaps became Duchess of Orleans. In England, the girls were largely ignored and Isabella's betrothal had been ignored as Prince Philip was now married to Maria Manuela of Portugal. Henry hadn't made any move to break the betrothal between Prince Edward and Amalia but there was a strong possibility, especially after the war with Scotland for the hand of their infant queen. No official move to break the betrothal had been made, but she knew Henry better than to think he would continue to support the betrothal. Their life would always be one of uncertainty and she now had the task of guiding them through it all.


	4. Chapter 4

**September 12th, 1546**

_Bletchingly Palace_

* * *

Isabella knew today was a special day. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but her aunt had asked that she and her sisters be dressed in their finest clothes. She loved being dressed up and pampered, something Amalia and Ruth hated. Although Ruth wasn't her sister by blood, she felt closer to her than her actual sisters. Isabella was already dressed, her hair arranged into a lovely bun, and Lady Cromwell was now attempting to dress Amalia. Amalia was fine, until Lady Cromwell attempted to do her hair and then she would scream bloody murder until Lady Cromwell left her to wear it down. Yet, today Lady Cromwell would have none of it as she wrestled Amalia down so that she could brush and plait her hair. Anna and Sophia remained quiet, observing their older sister's tantrums. Anna was no better, she hated being dressed, not to mention her hair while Sophia was more like Isabella. However, once it was all finished, Isabella noticed that Amalia was the most richly dressed of the four girls and Lady Cromwell led her into the appearance room while Isabella, Anna, and Sophia were kept in their rooms.

"Lady Cromwell, why is Amalia being favored over myself? I am the eldest!"

Lady Cromwell nodded. "Yes, my lady, you are. However, Amalia is betrothed to the Prince of Wales and you are not."

Isabella suddenly understood. "The King is here?"

"Yes, my lady." the governess nodded.

Isabella was surprised. "Why has the King come?"

Lady Cromwell patted her head. Isabella had always been her favorite. "My lady, the king must inspect the future Queen of England and ensure that she will make a good Princess of Wales."

Isabella frowned again. "The King of Spain never visits me."

"El rey de España no tiene tiempo para un viaje de Igleterra, mi princesa." Lady Cromwell pointed out.

Isabella nodded. "I know he is very busy, but I am not even sure if I will marry the King of Spain."

Lady Cromwell seemed shocked that Isabella would think such a thing. The alliance had been decided upon before she was even born, she would marry the King of Spain in order to claim her inheritance. "What would make you think such a thing?"

"El Infante es diez años mayor a mi y es un hombre ahora." She stared at her shoes, feeling somewhat sorry for herself.

Isabella had spent her entire life expecting to marry someone she had never met before, a person who had already married once before and then renewed his claim to her after his wife had died. She dreaded going to Spain to meet a husband who had already taken others into his bed.

"He has married before Lady Cromwell, if she had not died I would still be without a betrothed. Amalia cannot marry before I do."

Lady Cromwell sighed. "Isabella, you were destined to marry King Philip since the day you were born. If-"

"If I wish to be the Duchess of Guelders, I must marry Philip of Spain and give him a son." Isabella finished.

Lady Cromwell nodded again. "You know what it is that you must do, my lady. Your-"

Isabella had heard this speech so many times. "My duty is to marry well and provide heirs for my husband. An infertile woman with a lowborn husband is the saddest wretch of them all."

Her governess cracked a fleeting smile. "You have learned well my lady. You shall make a good wife one day. Quiet, humble, obedient with an impeccable bloodline, you shall make the King of Spain a happy man."

Isabella frowned again. "What if I displease him or fail to give him a son?"

Lady Cromwell took her hands in her own. "You will give him a son because your life depends on it. Do not think on it too much my dear, now I shall go check on your sisters. Anna and Sophia cannot be trusted alone."

Isabella nodded half-heartedly. Her governess had never been one to hide the truth from her, but to know that her entire being was depending upon her giving her husband a son was too much for her young heart to take. She would be quiet, kind, submissive, a perfect wife because that was what her station expected of her. She would not expect her husband to be faithful because he was a king and kings naturally paid court to other women as their right. She would be silent and bear it with a kind smile and relish in the fact that only her children would be heirs to the throne. However, King Philip already had a son with his first wife, Don Carlos, who would be his heir. If it had been her choice, Isabella would never become a queen.


End file.
